Leading a group of people is not an easy endeavor. There are so many responsibilities, duties, and things to remember. And once you have considered all of these things, you then have to take your employees into account.

You have to consider both the way you lead them and the way you look after them.

 

For those of you who are concerned about your leadership skills, here are 5 questions that you should ask yourself before you can become a better leader.

5 Questions To Become a Better Leader

1. How Do My Employees See Me?

To be a good leader you must be seen to be a good leader.

*Are you the type of leader that your employees fear?
*Do your employees scatter as you walk past?
*Do they exhibit their trust in your leadership?

If this is the case you need to interact with your employees more often and in a less formal manner. Your employees should view you not just as their manager, but as a part of the team; because that’s what a workforce should be, a team.

2. Am I Leading by Example?

It’s inevitable that your employees will attempt to “follow in your footsteps”, due to this you must tread carefully.You should be seen to take responsibility and work well, cutting corners and spending too much time on the phone or talking with colleagues implies that it’s okay for the staff beneath you to do the same.

It would be hypocritical of you to caution your employees for doing something that they have witnessed you doing, so be the best role model that you can be.

3. Do I Provide my Employees with Enough Motivation?

Understanding how your employees are motivated and what you can do to motivate them further is imperative as a leader. Discover what it is that makes your employees tick and use it to help them; a motivated employee is often a productive employee.

A more productive workforce could see you with an increase in profits overall.

 

Methods of motivating your employees include competitions, rewards and bonuses for hard work or targets that have been met.

4. Am I Devoting Enough Time to Helping My Employees Progress?

There simply aren’t enough hours in the day when you are in a management position or a role where you are having to lead others.

But is this an excuse to neglect your employees?

 

It’s understandable that you may feel stressed due to your work but to be an effective leader you must overcome this and take some time to speak with your employees.

Help your employees overcome the obstacles that they are facing in the workplace and support them where possible; if one of your employees is dealing with a difficult client take over for them and later explain to them the best approach when dealing with demanding customers.

5. Do I Listen to The Needs of My Employees?

If you want to maintain mutual respect between you and your employees it’s essential that you listen to any problems that they may have within the workplace. Bear in mind that not all employees will be forward enough to tell you of issues straight away, you must take the time to speak with them on a regular basis and encourage them to discuss their problems with you.

When they are telling you of their troubles it’s imperative that you don’t interrupt at any point as this can make people feel nervous which in turn makes them less likely to discuss things with you in the future.

There are several other things that you can do to improve your methods of managing and to become a better leader, one of these would be to speak to your boss and ask them how they have achieved their position within the company and how it affected their leadership skills.